r long been the subject of diplomatic
speculations, suddenly became acute. Various candidates for her hand
were proposed--among others, two cousins of her own, another Spanish
prince, and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, a first cousin of Victoria's
and Albert's; for different reasons, however, none of these young men
seemed altogether satisfactory. Isabella was not yet sixteen; and it
might have been supposed that her marriage could be put off for a few
years more; but this was considered to be out of the question. "Vous
ne savez pas," said a high authority, "ce que c'est que ces princesses
espagnoles; elles ont le diable au corps, et on a toujours dit que si
nous ne nous hations pas, l'heritier viendrait avant le mari." It might
also have been supposed that the young Queen's marriage was a matter to
be settled by herself, her mother, and the Spanish Government; but
this again was far from being the case. It had become, by one of those
periodical reversions to the ways of the eighteenth century, which,
it is rumoured, are still not unknown in diplomacy, a question of
dominating importance in the foreign policies both of France and
England. For several years, Louis Philippe and his Prime Minister Guizot
had been privately maturing a very subtle plan. It was the object of the
French King to repeat the glorious coup of Louis XIV, and to abolish
the Pyrenees by placing one of his grandsons on the throne of Spain.
In order to bring this about, he did not venture to suggest that his
younger son, the Duc de Montpensier, should marry Isabella; that would
have been too obvious a move, which would have raised immediate and
insurmountable opposition. He therefore proposed that Isabella
should marry her cousin, the Duke of Cadiz, while Montpensier married
Isabella's younger sister, the Infanta Fernanda; and pray, what possible
objection could there be to that? The wily old King whispered into
the chaste ears of Guizot the key to the secret; he had good reason to
believe that the Duke of Cadiz was incapable of having children, and
therefore the offspring of Fernanda would inherit the Spanish crown.
Guizot rubbed his hands, and began at once to set the necessary springs
in motion; but, of course, the whole scheme was very soon divulged and
understood. The English Government took an extremely serious view of
the matter; the balance of power was clearly at stake, and the French
intrigue must be frustrated at all hazards. A diplomatic stru